20 Jan, 2011: Octopus remains washed ashore

The Freeport News (Grand Bahamas): Octopus remains washed ashore

The remains of an estimated 20 foot octopus was found yesterday morning in the Williams Town Beach area behind the Island Seas Resort.

Fisherman, Dudley Bethel made the gruesome discovery and alerted hotel officials of his find. When The Freeport News arrived, a small crowd had gathered on the shoreline curious as to how an octopus of that size ended up there.

Some were brave enough to touch the remains to get a better look at the sea creature.

Bethel reported that he saw the remains at about 8:00 a.m and knew exactly what it was.

"I saw that the octopus was washed up on the shore, it was pretty big and I was a bit concerned. I knew what is was because as a fisherman we see a lot of them out there in the water, but they are not as big as this."

Bethel said he believed that the octopus might have been attacked by a shark due to the visible bite marks on the remains.

Clement Campbell, assistant fisheries superintendent of the Department of Marine Res-ources, was also on-hand to conduct an investigation into the matter.

He told reporters that this was the second octopus discovered within the last six months.

"Based on what the predators left behind it is believed that it could have been between 20-30 feet long.

The only thing that was left was the mouth and a portion of the head. All of the tentacles were gone," he said.

"The octopus might have been there because of age, normally in this part of the world they do not get that big, they would be that size in the Pacific Ocean so it is rare for them to be in this area."

When asked if this could be a matter of concern, Campbell said that at this stage, it is too early to tell.

"We don't know which way to point to or the cause of it. If it happens again we may have to conduct some tests. We are unable to test on these remains because all of the intestines were gone."

He added that the remains would be turned over to the Department of Environmental health to be disposed of.

Back in July 2010 while on a fishing trip, residents discovered a large octopus floating in waters off the Bell Channel. The octopus weighed in at 135-pounds and measured 12 feet.